Norman (voiced by Kodi
Smit-McPhee) really sees dead people and they happen to be his only
friends in the world. The pre-teen years sure can be a real drag, but
when a witch’s curse leads to a return of the living dead that threatens
to take over an entire community, it’s up to Norman and a ragtag crew
of friends and family to set things straight. There’s some solid vocal
support (Anna Kendricks, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie
Mann and Jeff Garlin) behind this enterprise from directors Chris
Butler (Art Department work on Coraline) and Sam Fell (director of The Tale of Despereaux),
but no unique twist or stylistic flourish to scare up some excitement
and, in large part, the movie can’t escape the fact that it feels like
an animated version of The Sixth Sense with a dollop of action
and comedy sprinkled into the mix.

The notion of a young protagonist
correcting past mistakes while choosing their own path is certainly a
worthy line to pursue, but ParaNorman, for all its fashionably dark hipsterism, falls short of the mark set by Brave earlier this summer. The activity here is far too normal to attract much attention. Opens wide Aug. 17. (PG) Grade: C-